by Ralph Stephenson, Gainesville Times

26 May 2006, p. A4

“It is a great relief to learn from Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean Connaughton that he was just bluffing about his support for the proposed 6,800-home Brentswood development in Gainesville by Brookfield Homes, from whom he has received campaign contributions.

“He says now that his pro-Brentswood stand was just an elaborate ruse to pressure VDOT and the feds to send more highway dollars our way.

“Luckily, he finally revealed his intentions just before the May 16 public hearing. That allowed the many citizens who were about to testify against Brentswood to go home without being heard, and cleared the way for Brookfield to resubmit its proposal in a few months, rather than be rejected and thus have to wait much longer before petitioning again.

“I congratulate Sean on his clever deception of both political parties and several citizens groups, all of which had banded together in the last two or three weeks before the hearing to make the truth about Brentswood known to thousands of citizens, particularly in Brentsville District.

“We had all assumed that months of shameless shilling by him on Brookfield’s behalf at venue after venue was sincere.